A recent cybersecurity report claims that nasty Minecraft thieves are getting their comeuppance as the accounts they’re trying to steal are actually installing ransomware on their machines.
Look, while it’s unfortunate that people still get scammed in 2021, there’s something that can’t be beaten when you learn that the victim got the last laugh. Like the person who bought a PlayStation 5 from a scalper, and when they disappeared without delivering the console, they pretended to be a lawyer suing the seller for “cyber crimes.” The phrase is laughable but the plan went off without a hitch and they managed to get their money back.
According to Fortinet, a cybersecurity firm situated in California, Japanese Minecraft players have been hit with a new version of the Chaos ransomware when they’ve tried to steal accounts from other players. Once the user downloads a “list” of alts for them to use, the file looks like it contains the usernames and passwords for a set of Minecraft accounts.
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When the executable file is activated, the malware encrypts all files under 2MB and adds four random characters chosen from “abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890” as a file extension. Specifically seeking file types like photos, documents, audio files and more, the files over 2MB on the affected machine are filled with random bytes meaning that they won’t be recovered even if the user chooses to pay the ransom.
Once complete, the “ReadMe.txt” file and new desktop background says that the victim must pay 2,000 yen in either bitcoin or pre-paid cards. That is meagre compared to some of the other ransomware attacks we’ve heard about and the attacker apologises for the inconvenience caused to the user, adding that they are only available on Saturdays for any communications.
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Fortinet advises Minecraft players to avoid seeking out alternate accounts to use in order to avoid this attack, as the price to pay for a second account is simply too high. Not the cash, but the fact that you won’t be able to get any of those larger files back due to the destruction of the data.
Featured Image Credit: Mojang, Mika Baumeister via Unsplash